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A couple from the baby boomer generation relocated from Texas to pursue their ideal retirement, realizing that they had been misled into believing it was the sole desirable location.
/https://blogs-images.forbes.com/joeljohnson/files/2018/09/baby-Boomer-couple-walking-on-the-beach--1200x798.jpeg "A couple from the baby boomer generation relocated from Texas to pursue their ideal retirement, realizing that they had been misled into believing it was the sole desirable location.")
In 2022, Nancy and Jim Cotton, both lifetime Texans, relocated to a little hamlet in northern Georgia.
The couple was weary of paying hefty property taxes and wanted to try something different in their retirement.
They have a larger property at a lesser cost in Georgia and save up to $3,000 each month.
This is an as-told-to article based on a chat with Nancy, 60, and Jim Cotton, 66, who relocated to a secluded village outside Ellijay, Georgia, in 2022 after residing in Texas for decades. The piece has been modified for length and clarity, and includes excerpts from emails between the Cottons and BI.
I spent the majority of my adult life in Texas, from the age of 16 until around 59.
I grew raised in Texas and spent all but three years of my life there.
There’s something mystical about living in Texas. You just can’t picture living anywhere else. Although we enjoyed living there, there was nothing in the state that we hadn’t done four or five times. Trying something new was very enticing.
We left Texas in 2022 for a variety of reasons. Although the state has no income tax, the property tax is exorbitant for retirees. Our enormous home’s property taxes were about $24,000 each year.
In addition, the heat was becoming oppressive. We wanted to live somewhere with seasons, anywhere between our children’s homes in Connecticut and Texas. We also wanted to go hiking and explore more natural treasures.
In 2022, we decided to follow our dreams and purchase a cottage in the woods in the heart of the mountains.
We wanted to try something new in retirement and live somewhere where we could stretch our money.
We were looking for a fresh experience.
We had always vacationed in the West and had planned to relocate to Colorado, Arizona, or New Mexico. Those are all locations we enjoyed visiting.
We did, however, enjoy our holiday in Asheville, North Carolina, where my husband’s aunt now resides with her husband. But it’s similar to Austin in that a lot of people are coming there, and house prices have skyrocketed.
“OK, what if we go an hour to three hours outside of Asheville?” we reasoned. “Is there anything else nearby?” That’s when we came upon Ellijay, Georgia. It’s a tourist town in the highlands with vineyards and apple orchards.
In Georgia, we’re saving a lot of money.
We live in a small town about 15 minutes north of downtown Ellijay. It’s not a big city and has only about three streets. We are in the mountains off of county roads. My husband and I wanted to live somewhere that was private but not remote.
The town is 75 miles north of Atlanta and 70 miles southeast of Chattanooga.
We paid $696,000 for a 2,800-square-foot home on three acres of property with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We don’t have a mortgage and save $3,000 every month.
Our county provides a property-tax exemption for seniors on school taxes, so we now pay just $1,599 per year. Our water, which used to cost $300 per month in Texas, is now part of a communal well and hence free of charge.
Though Georgia has an income tax, they don’t tax Social Security and exclude up to $135,000 per couple for most retirement income like pensions and 401(k)s, so we pay barely anything.
Before leaving Texas, we were living in a new subdivision in Leander, which was at the edge of the Texas Hill Country. In 2015, we purchased our 4,500-square-foot home for $695,000.
The neighborhood we lived in was very popular. Its housing prices were rising and the appraisal district was paying attention. Our house was valued at a far higher price than we could ever sell it for — it was really ridiculous.
We finally sold it to Californians for a tidy sum of $1.5 million.
We adore our new residence.
Moving to a new town when we were young was terrifying. We’d never moved across the nation before, and we were going to a place where we didn’t know anyone — it was a big gamble.
Nonetheless, I believe we now enjoy a higher standard of living. We made a lot of money by selling our Texas house at the perfect time. We were able to relocate to Georgia and purchase a home without a mortgage, and our property taxes have also decreased.
Nancy: I believe I experienced less cultural shock since it was vital to me to remain in the South. It’s pretty nice here, and I enjoy it. People are courteous and pleasant.
We were misled for so long in Texas that it was the only place to be – it’s not.
I adore Texas and the Austin metropolitan region. It provides excellent work and living-cost prospects, particularly for young people. But, when you’re our age and retired, I believe there are other options.
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